Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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Thursday - September 15, 2011

From: Raymore, MO
Region: Midwest
Topic: Septic Systems, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Appropriate plants for septic field from Raymore MO
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Is it practical to plant coneflower, garden phlox, etc. on a septic drain field?

ANSWER:

We are frequently asked about appropriate plantings over septic fields. Rather than repeat ourselves, we will link you to several of those previous answers from various parts of the country. The gist of those answers is that grasses and herbaceous blooming plants are good, holding soil and moving moisture to the surface. On the other hand, woody plants such as trees and shrubs are not good; their roots will make a beeline for the septic lines and disrupt them

Previous answer No. 1

Previous answer No. 2 - which also has a number of other links

From the Image Gallery

Eastern purple coneflower
Echinacea purpurea

Wild blue phlox
Phlox divaricata